This invention relates to micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), and more particularly to the fabrication of microstructures using structural and sacrificial films.
Surface micromachining is the fabrication of thin-film microstructures by the selective removal of a sacrificial film. Since the 1980s, polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si), deposited by low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD), has become established as an important microstructural material for a variety of applications. Silicon dioxide (SiO.sub.2) is typically used for the sacrificial layer and hydrofluoric acid (HF) is used as the selective "release" etchant in poly-Si micromachining. The successful application of poly-Si to inertial sensors, for example, is owing to the excellent mechanical properties of poly-Si films and to the widespread availability of deposition equipment for poly-Si and SiO.sub.2 films, both of which are standard materials for integrated-circuit fabrication.
Co-fabrication of surface microstructures and microelectronic circuits in a modular fashion is advantageous in many cases, from the perspectives of system performance and cost. Given the maturity of the microelectronics industry and the complexity and refinement of integrated-circuit processes, it is highly desirable if the MEMS can be fabricated after completion of the electronic circuits with conventional mettallization, such as aluminum (Al) metallization. While this "MEMS-last" strategy is infeasible for poly-Si microstructures because the deposition and stress-annealing temperatures for poly-Si films are much too high for aluminum or copper interconnects to survive, the MEMS-last strategy is nonetheless very desirable.
The state-of-the-art poly-Si integration strategy is to fabricate the thin-film stack of structural and sacrificial films prior to starting the electronic circuit process. There are several practical disadvantages to this "MEMS-first" approach. First, the highly tuned and complex electronics process may be adversely affected by the previous MEMS deposition, patterning, and annealing steps. For this reason, commercial electronics foundries are unlikely to accept the pre-processed wafers as a starting material. Second, the planarity of the wafer surface must be restored after completion of the MEMS thin-film stack, which can be accomplished by fabricating the MEMS in a micromachined well or by growing additional silicon through selective epitaxy. Third, the release of the structure occurs at the end of the electronics process and the electronic circuits must be protected against the hydrofluoric acid etchant. Finally, the MEMS-first approach requires that the MEMS and electronics be located adjacent to each other, with electrical interconnections that contribute significant parasitic resistance and capacitance and thereby degrade device performance.